General Motors has officially announced pricing for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The subcompact sedan will start at $14,495 (including destination charges) while the five-door model will command a slightly steeper $15,395 MSRP.

Those figures net buyers a 1.8-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine with 138 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque, a five-speed manual transmission, 10 air bags, remote keyless entry and power door locks. Buyers with a little more coin to spend can opt for a six-speed automatic transmission for $1,070. The more powerful and fuel-efficient turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine and six-speed manual transmission will set you back another $700, though that combination is only available on pricier LT and LTZ trims.

The prices put the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic Sedan on the high side of the subcompact segment. The Ford Fiesta S Sedan hits the market at $13,995 with destination while the Honda Fit hatchback lands closer to $15,870 and the Toyota Yaris carries a sticker of $13,915. The sales leader in the segment, the Nissan Versa, meanwhile, can be had for as little as $10,750 in sedan guise. Hit the jump for the full press blast.

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Chevrolet Announces Sonic Price Will Start at $14,495

Offers more standard safety equipment than any vehicle in its class with 10 airbags and the security and convenience of OnStar

DETROIT – The suggested retail price of the all-new 2012 Chevrolet Sonic begins at $14,495 including destination but excludes tax, title, license and dealer fees. Sonic comes with the most standard safety equipment in the sub-compact class, including 10 air bags. Air conditioning, power door locks, remote keyless entry and 15" alloy wheels also are standard.

The Sonic, the only sub-compact built in the United States, is expected to deliver 40 mpg highway with class-leading acceleration when paired with the 1.4L Turbo and six-speed manual transmission.

The Sonic is offered in two body styles: a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback. Each delivers outstanding rear-seat roominess and cargo space.

"Sonic shares the spirit of Chevrolets like the Corvette by delivering athletic and agile performance," said Rick Scheidt, vice president of Chevrolet marketing. "Today's customers have high expectations for small cars. Sonic comes with an unexpected level of standard equipment so that every customer will have comforts and amenities they desire."

The 2012 Sonic will be for retail sale this fall in three models with two body styles:

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As a Fit owner, I will honestly say this car looks nice visually. But I also see 2 things that the Fit does better than this: The gauges in Fit look great, almost Acura quality. The Sonic's gauges look like a toy. And the Fits rear seats fold completely flat with no seam, the Sonic's doesn't. Hauling cargo in the Sonic will be limited with the backseat sticking up.

What's with the "motorcycle" styled center stack? On a 135 hp subcompact, that's tantamount to affixing racing cleats to a turtle's feet; - - What's the point? Why feature an overly large, prominent tachometer on this little 4-wheeled scooter? ( - - ????) Anyone who would pay attention to a tach rather than to a speedometer on an economy vehicle has more problems to deal with other than the obvious one of coming up with enough money to pump the fuel tank full. Beam me up, Scotty!

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@ Brian
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
According to GM it is built on the Gamma architecture, which is a true GM platform developed by Opel. The Sonic is riding on the Gamma II platform, which is based off of the Gamma architecture, which again is an Opel designed platform.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Gamma_platform

Am I alone, or is that the worst, ugliest, dumbest speedometer available today? the rest of the interior looks like much of the Chevy/GMC lineup, but that aggressive tachometer seems like it fits something interesting, but not next to a digital mph display that looks flat, and those little hole-punch indicators. I mean, first they don't fit with each other at all, and secondly the right half looks horrendous.
What were they thinking? Given how competitive the

I don't like it. But it has gotten a lot of positive attention, including from the press.
After seeing BMW MINI get away with a stupid center speedo on a $22K car, this doesn't seem all that out there.

At the price range this is in, the absolutly last thing buyers worry about is how the speedometer looks. You are not going to impress anyone with this thing. Think of it as a refrigerator. This is the priority:
1. Reliability - Given Aveo's past, this is the biggest issue with this car.
2. Price - Price with all the options is pretty competitive.
3. Economy - Don't know mpg
4. Room - Looks pretty roomy.
5. Comfort/easy to drive - Those stupid small rear windows make it hard to judge approaching car distance. Would almost not buy this car just because of that.

Sadly, I agree with Miketim1. This is way too much for this car.
GM needs a near-$10K car in its lineup. Perhaps they'll bring the Spark over for that. But this car won't sell for $14K--bet your money on that.

Here's the problem... To me, and probably the vast majority of the market, it LOOKS like an Aveo, so, it's an Aveo. I could care less what platform it's on, it's dreadfully ugly, looks like they slapped some brodawg wheels, a cheesy grill, some updated headlights and tail lights, and a new name on the same old crap-box Aveo....

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Justin: It's badged as the Aveo in other markets (though it's called the Sonic here because the Aveo badge was considered too toxic), and it was designed from the outset to be an Aveo replacement. Yes, it's based on a newer, much superior platform, and it's a comprehensive redesign, but you can't say it's not related to the Aveo "in any way."